The PUBG desert map Miramar is here for PC players, after months of teases, screenshots, datamines and a debut on the test server.

For console players though, the PUBG desert map on Xbox is still a little way away, with the console version a few steps behind the build on PC - and in dire need of some work to its stability.

Matching the 8 by 8 kilometer setting of Battlegrounds' original map, the Miramar map is a dusty biome with a mixture of vast plains, high story settlements, expansive desert and a coast surrounded by islands.

Here on this page, we'll be explaining everything you need to know about our expectations for the Miramar's Xbox release, plus our tips and advice on the best Miramar start locations and drop zones, general map info, and our own dedicated Miramar strategies for getting the most out of the desert map's unusual terrain.

Now that Miramar's been out in the wild for a little while, we've become a little more intimate with its various quirks and and characteristics.

That's not to say there isn't more to learn though, and we could stare at the map itself for hours thinking about new places to try landing and looting - but maybe that's just us! Here's the map itself, before we dive into specifics:

PUBG's desert map Miramar:

Layout, size, setting, and cover

As you might have guessed, the desert map Miramar is set in the desert - or at least a fictional, sandy, central American biome. There's a clear 'Western' vibe to it, with classic frontier weapons like the Winchester being introduced when it launched. We explored Miramar ourselves back when it launched, which you can watch in the video below:

As far as its general characteristics go, the main thing to note about Miramar is that it's open, far more so than the Erangel map - although it's open in a different way to what many people seem to think.

One of the main complaints players have had about Miramar is that it feels too open because of the lack of cover. That's not necessarily true - there may be slightly less cover than Erangel, but more cover has been added in a recent patch. We think that it's more a case of Miramar feeling open because of the differences in line of sight that it has with Erangel.

The one thing that really sets the two apart is the excess of trees in Erangel. They provide pretty poor cover, but a handful of trees dotted around fairly open fields is enough to drastically alter line of sight to snipers and people scoping out the plains for crossing players.

Whilst Miramar might have plenty of cover that's actually better at protecting you than trees, it's the fact that you can see so far, and so clearly, that makes you feel so vulnerable when you're traversing it.

In terms of size, Miramar's actually the same size as Erangel, despite some believing it to be different - it's an 8x8 grid of large squares, with each large square equalling one kilometre.

Miramar's best start locations, drop zones and desert map strategies

As with Erangel - and any map that would come out in PUBG - the best starting locations for a given match are always going to depend on the situation - and how you like to play.

Generally though, if you're out to win and not out to practise your combat or fool around, there are a number of things you're always going to want: loot, safety, and an easy route to the safe zone.

Miramar best start locations and drop zones:

Hacienda - This is Miramar's version of Erangel's School; a smallish complex absolutely bursting with good loot, but also almost guaranteed to have other players there too, even if the plane's path was nowhere near it and you got there as fast as you could. Survive the shootout and you'll be one of the most well-kitted in the game.

Prison - Like Hacienda, this place has probably the best loot in the game. Unlike Hacienda, it's less popular because it's right in the corner of the map, meaning it's only viable on occasion. The best time to go here is when the plane's path is quite far away, but you can get close-ish on landing, and arrive within about a minute by vehicle. That way you normally get it to yourself, and have time to quickly book it to the safe zone after.

Casino at Pecado - The Pecado Casino is a bit like Erangel's Hospital. A single, large-ish building filled with top-grate weapons and gear. It's very central though, like Hacienda, which means it's almost always in range of a parachute drop and therefore almost always full of people, so expect a shootout if you go.

Ladrilleria - A lesser-known gem that I hate to tell the world about, Ladrilleria normally has enough equipment for one or two players although it varies greatly with RNG. Sometimes there'll be three M416s and level 2 armour, sometimes three Winchesters, depending on your luck. It's normally quiet if it's on the edge of parachute distance and is also close to another large town and some warehouses that you can progress to if needed.

Military Camp - Right in the top-right of the map this place is rarely in range of the drop, and often leads you stuck right at the far end of the map to the safe zone if you get bad luck with the RNG, but it's full of great gear. The main issue is that it's so spread out that it takes a long time to actually hoover it all up, but it's great for squad play where you can afford to spread out a little yourselves.

Minas Generales - A bit like Ladrilleria, this place is rarely dense with other players, partly because it's quite close to hot areas like Hacienda and Pecado which the masses tend to prefer. The various levels of the big machinery structures have lots of level 2-rated gear, and inside the multi-level buildings you'll find a good range of weapons. Another one good for squads as it's quite spread out again. Move into Graveyard, too, if you're still short of one or two key items.

The official screens don't fully do it justice, but the more desert-y areas can be expansive, difficult to navigate and deadly if you're not smart about moving through them.

Away from specific drop zones and landing locations, the general tips for landing and surviving on Miramar are pretty similar to those for Erangel. Here's our general advice for where to land when playing on the map:

PUBG Miramar map strategies:

On Miramar specifically, allow some extra time for getting around the desert map. Despite patches to address the issue, vehicles are still harder to find, and off-road is much harder to navigate thanks to miles upon miles of bumpy, awkward terrain that your vehicle can get suddenly stuck on.

As we mentioned above, whilst there's plenty of natural cover on Miramar - those humps, bumps and hills are awful for driving but great for ducking and diving between - the sight lines are very open. Avoid crossing open areas surrounded by hills, especially on foot.

Remember the rough distance of 1-2 kilometres/squares as a guide of how far you can get from the flight path, depending on how high you open your parachute.

Know when to jump by lining up the wing of the plane with your marker. When it's perfectly in line (i.e. when the plane is perfectly at a right angle to your location) then jump.

To get max distance fast, press W whilst looking directly up. That means you're diving forwards, quickly, rather than down or slowly.

You get a speed boost to your parachuting if you're at max speed (234mph) when the parachute opens. Do so by looking directly down and holding W.

When your parachute opens, swing to go further. Do so by pressing W until you've swung all the way back, then releasing so your character swings forwards, then press W again when they're at max distance forwards in the swing, and repeat.

One tactic is to pick a map location with a high chance of spawning vehicles, that's away from any conflict. Hop in the vehicle, and then you can drive to a loot-heavy location well across the map (away from any enemies) and give yourself a good 5-7 minutes to loot it, considering it takes 5 minutes for the first blue ring to spawn, and then a couple more for it to actually reach the white-ringed safe zone.

Use the bar above the minimap correctly to judge how long you have to loot: the timer is how long you have until the blue starts moving; the blue bar fills up the closer the blue circle gets to the white; the white man running shows how far away you are from the circle; a greyed-out man on the far right shows you're already in the safe zone white circle.

Expectations for Miramar's Xbox release date and what we know about the desert map on Xbox

As things stand, there's still no official word from developer Bluehole on when the desert map is coming to Xbox, but since the Xbox Roadmap has been announced, we know that it's probably not going to be long.

It came to the PC with version 1.0 - the official launch of the game as it left Early Access on Steam - and that seems to still be a bit of a way off for Xbox players, who can expect "Update 9" at some point in the near future, but no desert map within it according to the developers.

For now though, as the roadmap hasn't given an enormous amount of clarity on when exactly we can expect the map on Xbox, it's a case of sitting tight and hoping for it to be soon!

One thing we can pretty much know for certain though is that it won't be the originally-named version that was first leaked on PC. Towns were, once upon a time, named with things like Murderland, Kill Box and Zombie. Los Leones was once Los Leonas - which is a weird, incorrect use of Spanish - and before that it was known as Hard Luck. On Xbox, we can expect to get the version that launched on PC, proper Spanish names and all.